Vol. VII. Xo. 153. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



SISAL CULTIVATION IN THE OAICOS 



ISLANDS. 



Although the cultivatiun of bisal hemp fur ecijiioniic 

 and expoit purposes has been carrieil on in the C.iicns 

 Islands for no more than sixteen or seventeen years, 

 yet its rapid extension, and the now very considerable 

 annual exports of fibre, have made it one of the chief 

 mainstays of the dependency, connnc; second in impor- 

 tance only to the salt-preparing industry. 



The .si.sal industry of the Caicos f(;>rias the hubjcot of 

 «, most readable report recently prepared by the Conimis.sioiier 

 of the Islands, the Hon. F. H. Watkins. This report 

 contains a good deal of interesting and valuable information 

 in regard to sisal cultivation and the preparation and grading 

 of the resulting filire. 



The first year in which anj' sisal fibre was exported from 

 the Caicos was in 1890, when a consignment of the value of 

 £•50 was shipped. In 189-1 the value of the exports lose 

 to £-i'20, and three years later to £2,-539. The year in 

 wlii<'h the greatest shipments have been made, so far, was 

 1899, when the exports reached the value of £7,494. This 

 figure has been, however, approached on two occasions since. 

 In 190(5, the quantity of fibre extracted was 219,365 lb. 

 and the value of the exports £5,605. 



The area under cultivation with' sisal in the Caicos 

 Islands is estimated at about 3,200 acres, while the 

 industry gives employment to about 300 people. A further 

 area of 1,000 acres in East Caicos is to be planted in the 

 jiear future, while it i.« mentioned that sevei-al thousand 

 acres, suitable for si.sal cultivation, exist in the different 

 islands, but are awaiting development. Two companies were 

 formed at an early stage of the industry to carry on planting 

 operations. In addition thei-e exists a considerable number 

 of small growers, many of whom are extending their area as 

 rapidly as their linuted means will allow. 



These figures indicate sufficiently -the rajiid expansion 

 of the industry, and its value t(j the inhabitants of the 

 De[iendency will be realized when it is remembered that the 

 .soil of the ( 'aicos Islands is very shallow, that droughts are 

 of frequent occiu'rence, and that that the bulk of the pojiula- 

 tion were previously entirely dependent for a precarious 

 livelihood upon salt-raking or sponge collecting. 



In regard to the cost of clearing land and planting it with 

 sisal, it is stated that in some places £1 an acre with an 

 additional .',</. for each plant set out,, forms the average 

 expense, but in other cases £1 lO.v. is generally paid for an 

 acre fully planted 4 J by 4 1 feet. The average daily wages 

 for a man in East Caicos are '2.i. '3d., for a youth l.<. 6'/., and 

 for a woman Ix. 



The life of the sisal plant in the Caicos Islands may be 

 put at about eight years, at the end of which period reijlant- 

 ing must take jilace. The first crop of leaves may fie 

 gathered three or four years after planting. An acre of land 

 .•jhoTdd yield an annual avei-age of from 675 to 900 If), of 

 fibre. At an average cost of 6c. per lb., or £28 per ton 

 (present price is about £32 per ton) this would give a return 

 of £10 per sere per annum. 



At the close of his report, .Mr. Watkins moitions the 

 following three conditions, the existence of whicji is essential 

 to profitable results in sisal cultivation : — 



(1) Capital, on account of the. somewhat expensive 

 inachineiy for extracting the fibre, and the length of time 

 which must elapse before a return is made. 



(2) A large area of land, csi)ecially where the soil is iioor, 

 to maintain the cultivation in regular .succession. 



(3) An abundant and cheap sujii'ly of laliour. 



SISAL HEMP AS A POSSIBLE INDUSTRY 

 IN JAMAICA. 



The Jini rnal of tlie Jamaica Agricultural Society, 

 commenting on the fact tl>at the colony of Jamaica 

 imports ever\' j-oar henip rope and other cordage to 

 the value of .t'8,500, in addition to home-nuide substi- 

 tutes, points out that sisal {Agave sisalana, var. 

 rif/idn) might well be grown in parts of the island 

 wdiere the soil is too poor for most other crops. 



The following extracts are quoted from the article 

 in cjuestior. : — 



Sisal hemp grows wild in the colony, and stands dry 

 weather almost as well as the cactus, in fact almost desert 

 conditions. Our neighbouring country, Yucatan, grows sisal 

 hemp to a large extent, and in the Bahama Islands it is also an 

 important industry. The fibre is better when it grows in dry 

 countries. In the plains of St. Elizabeth it flourishes any- 

 where, and a nine-months' drought did not afi'ect plants 

 growing among the rocks, in situations where there was 

 apparently no earth for the roots to fasten on. In the 

 plains of St. Elizabeth the people are in want of suitable 

 crops, and require just some such industry as this to help 

 them in earning a living. 



There is no part of the island where the people cannot 

 make a good living, if they are inclined to work steadily, 

 and would listen to agricultural instruction. AVe would 

 rocomend the untilization of the ditt'erent kinds of agaves or 

 aloes, wliich grow .so commonly in the dry parts of St. Eliza- 

 lieth, for the making of good hemp rope, which can be sold 

 wholesale at 6d. per lb. Pen keepers will gladly use these 

 ropes, as thej' are strong and lasting. 



But it is not only as a native industry, fi.ir local ust; 

 alone, that we wish to call attention to sisal hemp. As we 

 have pointed out, the production of this hemp is a big 

 industry in Yucatan and the Bahamas. The Queen.sland 

 Government is spending a large sum of money in fostering 

 a sisal hemp industry in that colony. We notice also that 

 the Xatal Government is likely to do the same. At one 

 time the [leople of this colony, at least those most concerned 

 in agriculture, agitated themselves over this same industry 

 that we now speak of, and £100 was granted for fibre 

 cultivation at Hope Gardens, where 50 acres weve once in 

 cultivation. But nothing came of thhs, and we are no 

 further advanced to-day than we were then. In manj' partr. 

 of the country .sisal hemp is common, growing in hedges and 

 along the road, and it should be a matter for attention that 

 its cultivation for rope-making purposes should be encouraged. 



The price of all filire is high at present, and is likely to 

 continue so. The ordinary valtie of sisal hemp in London is 

 not less than £29, and is often sold for as much as £38 per 

 ton. There is no lack of machines to deal with this fibre 

 now. The hand methods will do for local use. 



Sisal hemp grows best under just such conditions as 

 exist in the driest areas of Jamaica, that is, dry, rocky, lime- 

 stone soil. The dry areas could be as flouri.shing as other dis- 

 tricts if planting operations were adapted to the climate. At 

 an}' rate, we should like to see sisal liemii systematically tried 

 on some estates in the driest parts of St. Elizabeth, simjily to 

 show \vhat may be done, l-'ven a hundred plants set out and 

 cared for enough to give them a fair start, would be interest- 

 ing and useful for experimental purposes. The rate of 

 growth and return of fibre coidd be noted, and information 

 lie got ready for any development that might happen. 



